New Year, New Man: A Kiss on Crimson Ranch / The Dance Off / The Right Mr. Wrong

“I left her here. I left both of them here. I was so intent on getting out, I deserted them. The twins weren’t like Jake and me. They needed someone to protect them.” He paused to drag in a miserable breath. “I should have protected them. If I’d been here...”

Sara unlaced her fingers from his and scooted around to stand in front of him. She took his face in her hands and tipped it down so he had to look her in the eyes. The pain she saw there tore at her heart. “That’s why you want to keep Claire away from her mother.”

“Claire was the same age as Beth when I left. I can’t take the chance that something in my daughter could change. What if something happens and I’m not around to make it okay?”

“You should explain that to Claire.” Sara drew her fingers through the soft hair along Josh’s neck, wanting to relax some of his tension. “Right now she thinks you want to squash her fun. If she understood the reasons why you’re protective of her, it might help.”

“How can I admit that to her? I’m supposed to be the dad, the one with all the answers.”

“You’re the dad who loves her with your whole heart. That doesn’t always mean you have the answers.” Unable to resist, she reached on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his mouth. “You’re human, Josh. Not a superhero. You know that, right?”

“If my injury has taught me anything, it’s that I’m all too human.”

“Human is good,” she whispered. “Flesh and blood makes things more interesting.”

His eyes darkened as a slow smile broke across his face.

“What did I say?”

“Flesh.”

“And blood,” she offered.

“Right now, I’m focused on the flesh.” He drew his palms up her arms and across the front of the soft robe, rubbing his thumbs against her exposed collarbone. “Yours in particular.”

As much as his touch made her skin tingle, she shook her head. “Will you talk to Claire?”

“Will you kiss me again if I say yes?”

“One doesn’t have anything to do with the other,” she argued, but leaned into him just the tiniest bit.

“I know,” he agreed. “Yes, I’ll talk to Claire.”

She nodded. “You do look a little like a superhero, you know. Like you could handle the weight of the world because you’re so strong and tough.”

“You’re talking movies again. You must be nervous.”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m not nervous.”

His eyebrows lifted in disbelief. “Anxious, then?” He lowered his head and touched his lips to the curve of her neck. “Or excited?”

He traced a path of kisses along her jaw, then whispered in her ear, “Wondering what it will be like between us?” His teeth grazed her earlobe gently.

Goose bumps rose along her heated skin. “We agreed this was a bad idea.”

“I didn’t agree to that.” His fingers undid the knot of the robe’s sash, then moved under the tank top she wore, massaging her back.

Her eyes drifted closed from the pleasure of his touch. She felt each of her arguments fade away in the riptide of desire building throughout her body. It was dangerous, she knew, because she felt more for this man than simple physical attraction. He’d wound his way into her heart with his quiet strength and deep commitment to doing the right thing. Sara hadn’t had a lot of experience with men who were truly good, and she found it to be a heady thing and not easy to resist.

“I want you, Sara. From the moment you walked through the door, I’ve wanted you.” His mouth moved to hers and she felt the smile on his lips. “If I were a superhero, the type who could fly and leap over tall buildings, you’d be my one weakness.”

“Did you just make a movie reference for me?” She melted against him a bit more.

“Officially, it was a comic book reference, but you can interpret it any way you want. If it means you’ll invite me in.”

“Come in, Josh,” she said as a sigh against his mouth.

A groan of pleasure escaped his lips as he lifted her into his arms and turned for the cabin.

She wrapped her legs around his lean waist as they all but crashed through the front door. His kisses became hotter and more demanding, drawing from her a need she hadn’t known she could feel. Pleasure and passion banked inside her for years bubbled to the surface demanding a release.

Josh slammed shut the door then pressed her into it, balancing her weight with his own body as his tongue swept between her lips, mingling with hers in a dance that made her body ache with longing for him.

“Bedroom,” he said on a moan.

“Can’t wait,” she answered, frantic to touch and be touched by him in this moment. Not wanting to delay her need one second more.

Her legs dropped to the floor, and she pushed against him while tugging at the hem of his T-shirt until he flung it off. The robe fell to the ground as they found their way to the couch. Her mouth went dry as he stripped off his boots and jeans, taking her hand as he sank onto the cushions.

She straddled his legs, feeling the evidence of his desire press against her. The realization his reaction was all for her gave Sara a feeling of power she savored, much as she did the warmth of his skin under her hands. She ran her fingers through the short hair on his chest and felt his stomach muscles contract when her tongue skimmed across his nipple.

His hands ravaged her hair, tugging gently until she looked up at him. “You’re overdressed,” he told her.

She stood and shimmied the pajama pants down past her hips. Then with a breath she lifted the tank top over her shoulders. Sara knew she had a decent figure—although in L.A. even the geriatric set had decent figures. She was well aware what a perfectly sculpted body looked like and just as aware that hers didn’t fit the bill. She stood in front of him for a moment, hands held over her breasts in only her cotton panties, wishing she’d had the foresight and budget to buy something more worthy of the moment. But the way Josh’s eyes darkened then sparked reminded her that this wasn’t Hollywood.

Maybe a real guy wanted to be with a real woman after all.

The thought gave her confidence a boost at the same time as another layer of her heart’s armor unfurled for this man.

She took a tentative step closer, and he moved forward to the edge of the sofa. He reached out and cupped her thighs, causing her to shuffle forward until her knees grazed the front of the couch. His mouth pressed against her stomach, drawing small circles of kisses as his fingertips mimicked the pattern on her legs.

Slowly, he gripped the sides of her underpants and smoothed them down until they fell in a puddle on the floor. He pulled her closer until she was once again on his lap, this time only the thin fabric of his boxers separating them.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispered as he took her breast in his mouth, loving the sensitive tip with his tongue. Her back arched against the pleasure he was giving her. He lifted then gently lowered her onto her back on the couch.

Sara felt open and vulnerable, unable to resist her desire in the moment. But when she looked into his eyes, there was something more. An answering need that had nothing to do with a physical release. It was as if he was claiming her with every kiss, every touch. Marking her body and soul as his. She’d never belonged to anyone, and the thought of giving herself now in that way both terrified and exhilarated her.

“You’ve got a pretty darn good superhero impression going tonight,” she said, trying to ground herself with humor.

But the light in his eyes only glowed deeper. “And we haven’t even started to fly.”